The troubles between streaming service DAZN, Golden Boy promotions and four-division world champion Canelo Alvarez doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon.
Now, the Mexican superstar might not even fight in the year 2020. Boxing’s biggest superstar Canelo Alvarez last stepped inside the ring back in November of 2019 when he took on Sergey Kovalev for the WBO light heavyweight title.
Kovalev was knocked out brutally in the eleventh round of the fight by Canelo, thus making him a four-division champion. Meanwhile, Canelo was scheduled to fight Billy Joe Saunders in May earlier this year, but the fight got cancelled because of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
Canelo Alvarez usually fight two-times a year during the Mexican holidays i.e Cinco De Mayo in May and the Mexican Independence Day in September. However, Canelo Alvarez is at odds with DAZN over monetary reasons.
Canelo signed a 5-year, $365 Million contracts with DAZN in 2018 that would see Canelo fighting twice a year and earning a staggering $35 Million per fight. However, DAZN signed the contract with Canelo in the hopes that Golden Boy and the boxing star would deliver marquee fights for the streaming giant and that would help bolster the sports app.
However, so far, Canelo has had three-fights on DAZN featuring Rocky Fielding, Daniel Jacobs and Sergey Kovalev and none of them were marquee names. DAZN wanted to stage Canelo vs GGG 3 in hopes of generating new subscribers for the platform in 2019, but Canelo refused to fight his old rival.
With much talks, DAZN and Canelo agreed on WBO super-middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders as their opponent and while, DAZN doesn’t consider him as a marquee opponent, they agreed to stage the fight.
ALSO READ: Oscar De La Hoya planning a ring return?
However, the fight fell apart and with just four more months left on the 2020 calendar, DAZN agreed to stage Canelo vs Callum Smith.
The Briton is the WBC super-middleweight champion and while it’s a highly interesting match-up, DAZN stated that they would only pay Canelo half of the guaranteed $35 million to fight Smith. Canelo Alvarez meanwhile has refused to take a pay cut and neither side is budging from their demands.
“If there was ever a time that boxing needed its biggest star in the sport back in the ring, it is now,” Golden Boy promotion’s Oscar De La Hoya told The Athletic. “While other sports are enjoying huge ratings as content-hungry consumers flood back to the market, boxing is stuck with record-low viewership.
“Canelo getting back in the ring instantly changes everything. We are fully committed to Canelo fighting this year and look forward to working with DAZN to make it happen.”
Canelo Alvarez vs Gennady Golovkin 3 may happen in 2021
A trilogy between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin may take place in 2021. GGG’s promoter Eddie Hearn stated that GGG has a mandatory challenger to take care of, following which they will proceed to fighting Canelo.
“Triple G has a contract with Kamil Szeremeta, his mandatory, for around November time,” said Hearn.
“He must take care of that this year, and then hopefully challenge Canelo again at Cinco de Mayo next year when the world returns to normality.”
ALSO READ:
Oscar De La Hoya posts image of ripped physique teasing 154 pound return!
